Hanford electrician sues, claiming ‘untouchable’ boss sexually harassed and retaliated

A former worker at the Hanford nuclear site has filed a federal lawsuit, saying she was retaliated against after making claims of ongoing sexual harassment by her supervisor at the vitrification plant.

Madalyn Jennings of Yakima is suing defendants Bechtel National, which holds the Department of Energy contract to build the vitrification plant, and her former supervisor, George “Buster” Elgin, a general foreman at the vitrification plant.

Also named as a defendant is Waste Treatment Completion Co., a joint venture of Bechtel National and Amentum, at the vitrification plant at the nuclear site adjacent to Richland in Eastern Washington.

“Bechtel does not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or discrimination of any kind and is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace,” said Staci West, a spokesperson for Bechtel National. “Given that this matter is the subject of pending litigation, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”

Defendants in the case have not yet filed responses in federal court.

Jennings said that Elgin began blatantly sexually harassing her as soon as she was hired in October 2023, according to a court document. She was the only female electrician apprentice and there was only one female journeyman.

Elgin commented on how she looked in jeans, discussed the “view” from behind when she walked up stairs, asked her to text photos of herself to him, sent regular text messages unrelated to work and would pull up his shirt in what she said was a harassing and threatening manner to show off his muscles, according to court documents.

He would brag about being “bulletproof” and “untouchable” at the vitrification plant and that his crew was not disciplined for serious safety infractions, according to the lawsuit.

Jennings attributed that to his family’s five-generation legacy as Hanford nuclear site workers, according to a court document. Elgin’s grandfather was the longest serving union business manager in the history of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 112 and the union’s “Elgin Hall” is named for him.

Although Jennings was increasingly wary of Elgin, she feared reporting him, according to the lawsuit.

She had a child with health issues that required medical visits and surgeries, and Elgin often oversaw the health and leave forms she submitted, according to the lawsuit.

“Her work environment was terrifying, unsafe, hostile, uncomfortable and intimidating as a woman,” the lawsuit said.

She responded by trying to avoid him and not make him angry, according to the lawsuit.

Harassment allegedly escalates

Then on Aug. 7, 2024, he told her in front of colleagues that he had been discussing her marriage with her husband, who also was a Hanford employee. Elgin asked her to pantomime a lewd act with him so he could take a picture and send it to her husband, according to the lawsuit. Instead, she walked out of the office trailer.

The next day, she was permanently assigned to work in the materials tent that Elgin overseas and with one of his close relatives.

The following day, Jennings’ husband reported Elgin to a union steward and then to a labor relations manager for Bechtel and Waste Treatment Completion Co., or WTCC.

Jennings also reported the harassment to WTCC and Bechtel labor relations and human resource officials, but was required to return to the material tent, according to the lawsuit.

A day later Elgin’s relative and another worker asked for her help with a label maker. When she turned it on it showed a profane and insulting message, according to court records.

Jennings said she believed the men had heard about her sexual harassment report and where making it clear she was not welcome, according to the lawsuit.

Bechtel and WTCC assured her they were conducting an investigation, but Jennings was no longer willing to report to the materials tent, where Elgin would have access to her in isolation, the lawsuit said.

She stopped coming to work Aug. 15, 2024.

Jennings believes that Elgin was tampering with the investigation of her harassment claim, including offering one witness to his alleged harassment higher paying weekend and other shifts that others were in line for ahead of him, according to the lawsuit.

The investigation concluded Aug. 21, 2024, finding that Elgin had engaged in no wrongdoing and declining to provide Jennings with a copy of the investigation, according to the lawsuit.

Her employers treated Jennings, not Elgin, as the problem, according to the lawsuit. They offered to let her change jobs, but those jobs would have required her to work alongside Elgin, according to the lawsuit.

Lawsuit asks for punitive damages

Jennings resigned in September 2024, believing there would be no protection of her by Bechtel and WTCC, and her husband also resigned later that month because Elgin and his relative were harassing him, according to the lawsuit.

Jennings has struggled to find permanent work since then and said she believes that she is being blacklisted, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit filed in Eastern Washington District U.S. Court, Jennings is asking for lost wages and benefits, punitive damages, emotional distress damages and costs of bringing the lawsuit.

She is represented by Cynthia Heidelberg of Breskin Johnson Trial Lawyers in Seattle.

The Hanford nuclear site produced nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program from World War II through the Cold War.

The vitrification plant began treating waste left from plutonium production last year, and construction on part of the plant continues.

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 10:56 AM.